Email to Cat      

Creole Lasagna

Source of Recipe

From "I Heart Soul Food" by Rosie Mayes


Recipe Introduction

"I know what y'all are thinking: What the heck is Creole lasagna? Well, let me fill you in. One time I had a craving for lasagna, but I didn't have all my usual ingredients. I had no ground beef, but I had ground pork, so instead of taking my butt to the store, I decided to use what I had! In the middle of making my meat sauce, I also realized that I didn't have any seasoning salt, so I decided to use some Creole seasoning instead. To make a long story short, this ended up being some of the best lasagna that I ever made! My husband and son loved it and after that, they requested my 'Creole Lasagna' regularly—they won't settle for the traditional kind anymore!"

List of Ingredients

â—¦ Vegetable oil, for greasing
â—¦ 1 pound ground Italian sausage, mild or hot
â—¦ 1 pound ground pork
â—¦ 1 large red bell pepper, diced
â—¦ 1 medium red onion, diced
â—¦ 5 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦ 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, or 8 cups fresh tomatoes, diced
â—¦ 1 tablespoon brown sugar
â—¦ 2 ½ teaspoons Creole seasoning
â—¦ 2 teaspoons dried basil
â—¦ 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
â—¦ 16 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese
â—¦ 2 eggs
â—¦ 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
â—¦ 12 oven-ready lasagna noodles
â—¦ 4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
â—¦ 2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
â—¦ Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine the sausage and pork.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, cook the sausage-and-pork mixture until it browns. Be sure to break up the meat while it cooks. Remove the meat from the pan and leave about 1 ½ tablespoons of the grease. Set the meat to the side.

Place the pan back on the stovetop, still over medium heat, and toss in the peppers and onions. Cook until they soften, then add in the garlic. Return the meat to the pan and add in the tomatoes. Mix the ingredients until everything is well combined. Then add in the sugar, Creole seasoning, basil, and black pepper. Mix the seasonings in, turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, eggs, and mozzarella cheese and mix the ingredients until well combined. Set to the side.

In the prepared baking dish, add a little of the meat sauce to the bottom. Add a layer of lasagna noodles, then spread a layer of the ricotta mixture over the pasta. Add a layer of the meat sauce, and another layer of the ricotta. Repeat. Add a final layer of pasta, then sauce, then smother with the cheddar and Colby Jack cheeses. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, garnish with parsley, and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 10 servings